Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth
CHILLICOTHE — This has been a week that Chillicothe’s Kiera Archer will never forget.
On Tuesday, she scored five goals — including the 100th of her career — and on Thursday, she led the way for her team to win its third conference title in four years.
With less than 90 seconds to play in Thursday’s match, the senior striker outraced four Jackson defenders and banged a shot off the right post, into the back of the net, to lift her Cavaliers to a 3-2 victory over Jackson — securing a Frontier Athletic Conference championship.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“Honestly, I kept hearing everyone in the stands and I knew that I had to do something at that point,” Archer said. “I got the ball and I immediately said that I have to go now. I got past the last person, so I knew that I had to just set the shot straight up and pass it in, so I’m really glad that’s how it worked out.”
Archer has provided a steady hand for the Cavaliers (9-3-2, 8-0-1 FAC) in a season where the FAC was up for grabs with so many unknowns throughout the league landscape.
Jackson knew it had to mark Archer and constantly had two or three players on her at all times, ensuring that her impact would be limited.
However, she still made her presence felt and received a little help from the Ironladies.
With 28:48 left in the first half, she blasted a corner kick into the box and amid a sea of players, the ball bounced off a Jackson foot and into the back of the net for an own goal and a 1-0 Chillicothe lead at halftime.
The drama contiuned to build in the second half. And it didn’t take long for everything to completely unfold.
Chillicothe was whistled for a foul just inside of the box, setting up a penalty kick for Sydney Carpenter, who buried it into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
Less than a minute later, Carpenter had the ball again and took a shot at the Cavaliers’ goal. It ricocheted off the keeper’s hands and found Braelynn Brennan, who connected on a header to put Jackson (9-3-1, 6-2-1 FAC) ahead 2-1.
“We tend to say ‘next action’ because you can’t do anything about what just happened. That was a wild minute of soccer, and we definitely felt the frustration at that moment,” Chillicothe coach Zach Breth said. “We had to reel it in quickly because we don’t play well when our emotions are running high. We start to make poor decisions, go in too aggressive and we start to foul. It was an interesting moment to say the least.”
At the 21:32 mark, Chillicothe provided the equalizer and tied the game at 2-2 when Archer took a corner and found Alex Erslan on the near post for a goal.
With 20 minutes left in the game, both teams emptied their gas tanks in a race to the finish. Jackson was looking for the win or a tie, and managed to fire off a few more shots. But nothing was crossing the line.
Just when it seemed like the Ironladies had their victory or tie in hand with less than 90 seconds left, Archer received the ball at the 35-yard line and turned on the burners.
She then connected with nylon, providing the game-winning goal to seal the envelope and a championship win for the Cavaliers.
“This one is definitely an emotional win. We came in a little tentative and with some nerves, but quickly got down to playing within our principles,” Breth said. “I’ve been involved with the program since 2011, and this is without a doubt a top three program moment. A fantastic finish, no bigger moment than to win the league and leave it to Kiera to show that clutch gene to bring the conference title back.”
Chillicothe returns to action on Saturday at Groveport while Jackson will get a second chance to beat the Cavaliers, hosting them on Wednesday.
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